If you have been longing to go on a holiday but have not been able to plan your travel because of busy schedule at work, you can take a short break and go for a weekend outing. There are plenty of places near Mumbai that offer a perfect setting to relax and rejuvenate your senses without having to travel long and far. Some of the popular weekend gateways near Mumbai are Alibaug, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran and Shirdi. You can either go out to these familiar places or you can choose to explore the lesser known and less crowded place and enjoy a peaceful time with your friends and family. If you’re soon planning for a trip you can either drive in your own vehicle or you can book your bust tickets online and use the Redbus Offers to avail discount offer Some of the best and popular destinations you can choose for your next weekend outing are mentioned below.

Jawhar

This quaint and stunningly beautiful tribal hill station is not known to many. Located in the Palghar district, Maharashtra, it is just about 166 kms from Mumbai and is away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Once you are here, there are plenty of places to explore but one that deserves a special mention is the Jai Vilas Palace, which was the palace of the erstwhile tribal kings in the region. The surrounding of the palace is just as beautiful as the design of the palace. The structure is also home to antique paintings and furniture that reflect the warli art.

Silvassa

The capital city of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, one of the Union Territory of India was once a Portuguese town.  The city is known to be the place from where the Warli culture originated. Throughout the city you can find traces of Portuguese architecture. To know more about the town you can visit the Silvassa Museum, which exhibits the ancient artifacts and transverses you through the history of the town. Other popular destinations are Balaji Temple, Dadra Park and Ban Ganga Lake.

Karnala

This is probably the closet weekend destination for Mumbai residents. The place is a treat for bird watching lovers and trekking enthusiasts. Karnala is located just adjacent to the Thane Creek is home to the Karnala Bird Sanctuary that is spread over 4.5 square km area. The sanctuary rests within it a huge range of unique bird species. When you visit the place make sure that you carry our binoculars to spot the colourful birds and butterflies. If you are trekking lover, you can go for a trek to the karnala peak, from where you can enjoy a breath-taking view of the Sahyadri Mountains.

Kashid

This quite beach is located in the Konkan region. It is a popular weekend destination for people who love to relax and go for a swim in the cool blue waters of the Arabian Sea. If you are going with your kids make sure that you always accompany them in the waters as the waves here tend to high. If you have had enough of playing in the waters, you can head to the Phansad Bird Sanctuary, which is located about 19 Kms for the beach. While you walk through the forest you can spot wide variety of birds and insects following your path.

5 Off-Beat Things In Delhi That No One Told You

Off-Beat Things In Delhi : Red fort, trip to Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar and a lot of important tourist attractions are present in Delhi. Beyond these clichés, there are a lot of off-beat things that you would love in Delhi. These are not the top things that people tell you about Delhi. These things aren’t the first thing to pop into anyone’s mind when you mention Delhi. But, these are really exciting things to enjoy if you are looking for an adventurous and enchanting vacation in Delhi tour.

Delhi is the capital of India with an international airport in it that connects a lot of international destinations. Thus, it should not be hard for you to schedule a vacation in this place.

Read Also : 8 Reasons Why Living in Delhi is The Best

5 Off-Beat Things In Delhi That No One Told You

The pre-historic walk

Delhi has been a hub since prehistoric civilization time. You would have seen a lot of architectures related to Mughals, Rajputs, Pashtun and others. But, this is about even older civilization. In Delhi you can find a lot of prehistoric monuments like Grey ware paintings of 1000 BC, Ashokan Pillars of 300 BC and many others. These monuments are scattered in the city in Greater Kailash, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi Ridge and others. You can either watch them when you visit certain attractions in each place or make a day out of it.

Cultural tour

You would be very familiar with the Pottery village of Delhi. You might have visited this place for buying some masterpieces. Tour the small little Tibet of Delhi which holds endangered Tibetan group of artists who live in the outskirts of Delhi.  You can enjoy some Indomania cultural experience here. Do not miss Philkhuwa which is located in Ghaziabad for some culture and art experience. If you take a ride around this place in tonga or on foot, you can find wood inlay works, block paining, dyeing using old techniques and others. You can buy these masterpieces and also can watch artists in work.

The haunted version

Every city has some haunting spots that would entertain people with steel nerves. Are you done with all kinds of tours in Delhi? This spooky tour would add more entertainment to your trip. Jamali Kamli Mosque in Mehrauli, Civil Lines’ Nicholson Cemetery, Agrasen Ki Bauli of Chadni Chowk and Malcha Mahal in Malcha are some of the top haunted places in Delhi. The history of these places can range from series of suicide to some historic dark tale. Make sure to visit these places only if you want to have a spooky experience.

Change of guard

You would have visited the residence of President in Delhi. Have you visited it on Saturday morning? You can witness the best military tradition of Delhi called as the Change of Guards. This is a periodic tradition that takes place every week when a new troop takes charge of the security. The parade and other ceremony elements are mesmerizing. It just takes a few minutes and you would certainly enjoy this visual feast.

Read Also : Lifestyle Of Girls Living In Metro City

Nilgai Spotting

Nilgai or Indian blue bull is an almost extinct species that you can find in the streets of Delhi. Once this species was thriving in this area and due to man made errors like deforestation, you can find a very few of these today. Nilgai still roams around in the city and you can spot one in Tughlaquabad fort, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Sanjay Vant and others. If you love nature, you can also enjoy the Charity Bird Hospital in Digambar Jain Temple which is opposite to Red Fort. This is the place which provides shelter to birds and rabbits.

These are just the top off-beat things to enjoy in Delhi. There are a lot of other things to do in Delhi like enjoying Sufism and listening to their tales, international museum of toilets, segway tour on a self balancing segway for 45 minutes and many others. These off-beat things would not take more than an hour. Thus try to include at least two off-beat things everyday in your vacation schedule. This would help you to enjoy Delhi like never before and like most of tourists never did before. After all, it is all about exploring, enjoying and learning.

6 Best Places To Visit In Sydney

Visit In Sydney : Sydney is one of the most beautiful cities in the world attracting a large number of tourists every year. The city is the heart of Australia and represents the true Australian culture. This is the reason why it attracts a large number of tourists who are looking to experience true Australia colours. Here are a few tourist destinations that one should definitely visit on the next visit to Sydney.

6 Places To Visit In Sydney

1. Sydney Opera House

The very famous architect Louis Kahn once said that the sun did not know how beautiful it’s light was until it was reflected off this building. The Sydney Opera House is one of the most wonderful architectures across the world and has become the symbol of the city for tourists coming from across the globe. This building has become synonymous with Sydney and tourists can visit this place to marvel its beauty or to enjoy the operas that are performed here.

2. Royal Botanic Gardens

The Royal botanic gardens offer beautiful relaxed environment for the tourists to enjoy the lazy afternoons. The gardens have a large variety of trees and plants including the very rare Wollemi Pine trees. A walk around the part will fill one’s heart with happiness.

3. The Sydney Harbour Bridge

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is another iconic landmark of the city that has come to symbolize it for tourists across the world. Although the bridge is motor able but to really experience its vastness and appreciate its beauty one should take a walk across the bridge. There is a footpath along the bridge that is very popular among the tourists.

4. Bondi Beach

The Bondi beach is one of the most popular beaches in the world. The Pacific ocean in this part of the world adds to the beauty of the beach because it is calm and peaceful. At times when the ocean is rough for the kids, there are small saltwater pools for their enjoyment. There are dedicated surf clubs and people can be seen enjoying surfing here all the year round. For the ones with a sweet tooth there are ice cream parlours all around the beach.

5. Hyde Park

The Hyde Park is sometimes called the city’s lung. There are manicured gardens and trees line up the walk on both sides. There are a large number of ibis gardens too and a large number of tourists can be seen taking a quiet walk here during the evenings.

6. Chinese Garden of Friendship

This garden has been built according to the Taoist principles and offers an oasis of tranquility in the middle of the hustle bustle of the city. There are a waterfalls, lakes and lush green plant life across the garden that makes it very pleasing and appealing to the eye. Its serenity cannot be described in words.

There are a large number of tourist attractions spread across the city but these listed above are the best and one should make it a point to see them on the next Visit In Sydney .